


Stability

by mysticmajestic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Injuries, M/M, Post-Mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 06:30:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12451563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysticmajestic/pseuds/mysticmajestic
Summary: After a battle gone wrong, Lance steps up to prevent losing Keith to his own self-loathing.





	Stability

**Author's Note:**

> This was written pre-season 4. Also, Klance is already established

He’d failed.

Keith dragged his feet down the corridor, away from the healing pods, keeping a hand against the wall for balance. Despite all Coran’s reassurances that Pidge and Hunk would be fine, all he could see was Pidge’s pale, bloodied face as they’d extracted her from the Green Lion, and Hunk, so badly hurt the left arm of his suit was completely shredded.

With the excuse of testing the castle’s defences, Allura had walked off as soon as Pidge and Hunk had been enclosed in the pod. She hadn’t _looked_ in Keith’s direction, much less spoken to him. Her disappointment in him was palpable.

 _I can’t do it,_ he thought miserably. _Shiro wanted me to be the leader…but I can’t do it._

A leader was supposed to be capable and strong, but he was neither. Thinking of the team, of battle strategies to suit them all, of their wellbeing—it never got easier. Too often he caught himself thinking about what _he_ needed to do. It was too easy to block out the voices of his friends over the intercom.

 _I should step down as leader. They’ll all be safer without me leading them. Shiro would be so disappointed in me for this._ He’d _never fucked up this badly._

A leopard can’t change their spots, and he couldn’t change who he was. No matter how hard he tried to be more, to be better, he couldn’t. He supposed he should be grateful that only two of his friends had been injured in the fight and not all of them.

God, he was going to get them all _killed_ —

“Stop doing that.”

Keith jerked his head up with a gasp, whirling around. Standing in the middle of the corridor, expression grim, was Lance. With his helmet tucked under his arm, a streak of drying blood on his left cheek, Lance looked much older than his seventeen years.

“W-what?” Keith muttered.

“Stop doing that,” Lance repeated. “Beating yourself up isn’t going to change things.”

“I—I _know that_ —”

“What happened today wasn’t your fault.”

Keith gaped at him. “How can you say that? I ordered for you all to get in that formation! I put you all in the line of fire. If I hadn’t—”

“We probably would’ve gotten hurt anyway,” Lance interrupted. He closed the distance between them, setting a firm, grounding hand on Keith’s shoulder. “They were prepared to deal with us. Don’t forget, they blindsided us. We were scrambling. You did the best you could—”

“If almost getting Pidge and Hunk killed was the _best I could do_ , then—” To his horror, tears prickled and burned his eyes, threatening to fall. Yanking his shoulder out of Lance’s grip, hating that sympathetic gleam in Lance’s eye, Keith turned away. “Leave me alone. I just—I need to be alone.”

“I don’t think you do.”

“Don’t think you know what I need! L-leave!”

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Lance. “I’m not going to let you wallow in self-pity.”

Dragging his palms roughly over his eyes with a growl, Keith stomped away—only to let out another frustrated growl when he heard Lance follow him.

“You win some, you lose some,” Lance continued. “Today wasn’t our day. But next time, we’ll be ready for them. They won’t beat us a second time.”

“Hunk and Pidge—”

“Will be fine. Don’t forget; we all followed you willingly. You know we wouldn’t have hesitated to speak up if we had a problem with your battle plan, and we didn’t. This isn’t on you, buddy.”

Keith blinked rapidly, a tear trailing down his cheek. “Leave me alone.”

“I already told you.” Lance stepped up beside Keith, throwing an arm around his shoulders. “No.” He continued walking down the corridor, pulling a spluttering Keith along with him. “How about some food, huh? I am _starving_.”

“Food isn’t going to fix this—”

“Neither is wallowing in self-pity, and yet here you are. C’mon, don’t even try and tell me you’re not even slightly hungry. We were out there for five hours!”

As if on cue, Keith’s stomach rumbled. “I—maybe I am a _little_ hungry,” he conceded. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arm around Lance’s waist, smiling when Lance let out a little whoop and shook him, grinning from ear to ear.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Lance crowed. “One bowl of weird alien space goo for my dumbass boyfriend coming right up!”

“You should wash your face first,” Keith advised. “You’ve got blood on it.”

Lance froze in horror. “ _What_?”

**Author's Note:**

> [Follow me on Tumblr!](http://mystic-majestic.tumblr.com/)


End file.
